Display holder



July-15,, 1924. 7 c. J. ANDERSON DISPLAY HQLDER Filed Jan 24 1924 INVENTOR ar! 25727 AIZdE/Jfiik M ATTORNEY Patented July 15, 1924..

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CARL J'OI-IN ANDERSON, OF ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO EXTENSO RACK CORPORATION, OF ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, A CORPORA- "IION OF DELAW'ARE.

' DISPLAY HOLDER.

Application filed January 24, 1924. Serial No. 688,153.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL J Ol-IN ANDnnsoN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Ann Arbor, in the county of Washtenaw and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Die play Holders, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to holders of the type adapted to display the face of the articles to be held thereby. l Vhile the device may be made in proportions suitable for holding a single printed sheet or card, or a name or number plate, I have shown it as specifically adapted for the purpose of bold ing a considerable number of cards, folders, timetables or catalogues. It is equally well adapted for holding one or more books or volumesiof considerable thickness.

The object of the invention is to provide a device of the above type, which is of sub 'stantial construction and attractive appearance, yet composed of but parts few, cheap and easily assembled.

While the construction herein shown may be employed for devices of fixed sizes, an important feature is making it adjustable for holding various sizes of cards, folders, etc.

These holders are particularly adapted for use in a group of identical units mounted in aframe but adjusted for different sizes of circulars or folders, as for instance'the timetables of various railroads or of different section of the same roads, orvarious advertising folders of automobile, or insurance companies. For such group use, as well as separate use, they are especially adapted by having integral bendable tabs of sheet metal that can be readily inserted in slots in a suitable sheet metal, pasteboard, cloth or wood display surface.

The above and other features of my invention may be more readily understood from the following description in connection with th accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a desirable form of the device;

Fig. 2 is a face view; and

Fig- 3 is a vertical section on the Fig. 2.

In these drawings the device is shown as comprising but four parts, namely, a bottom shelf bracket, two side guide brackets line 3 3,

and a guideplate consisting of a single sheet of metal bent so as to securely and ad ust-ably hold said bracket members in position so that the bottom bracket serves .as a support for the lower edges'and the side brackets as guides for the side edges of the sheets or folders to be displayed. The bottom support bracket is in the form of an L-shaped piece ofsheet metal comprising;

thevertical attaching portion or shank 1,

the horizontal shelf or support portion 2 and the vertical retaining flange 3. The parallel edges of the vertical portion, 1, are

slidably engaged by the forwardly curled flanges 4;, 5, of body or guide plate 6. The latter is preferably a flat piece of sheet metal. The free edges of said flanges are pinched down upon the face of 1, frictionally holding it in any desired position of vertical adjustment.

The top and bottom edges of the guide plate are curled rearwardly and bent as shown respectively at 7, 8 and 7 8*, Fig. 3,

to afford parallel guides for the le s 9, 10

and 9*, 10 of the L-shaped side guides. As shown these side guide consist each of a single piece of wire which may be of substantial thickness, say, one-eighth inch, bent outwardly as at 11, across as at 12, downwardly a at 13, outward as at 14, inward as at 15, upward as at 16, and then parallel with leg 9 to form the cooperating leg 10.

to skeletonized L-form as shown, that is,

The other side guide has precisely the same shape and consists of the corresponding portions 9 11 12 13 145*, 15 16 10 The purpose of the offset bends 16, 16 is to bring into horizontal registry, the front retaining element 12, 13, 14, on the one side, 1

and 12313, 14 on the other side. These "and the bottom flange 3 are the only parts that are visible from the front when the articles are in place in the device.

The two wire retainers are of identical shape and are usable interchangeably. The mere fact that one is inserted from the right hand side and the other from the left hand side, causes the primary asymmetry of the individual constructions to produce the horizontal registry and symmetrical appearance of the retaining flanges, as shown in Fig. 2.

It will be evident that wires could be used for the vertical support member 1, 2, 3,

but this is not desirable since this support bears the weight of the articles to be displayed or dispensed, and the broad plane surface of support afforded by sheet metal is much less apt to mutilate or disfigure the lower edges of said articles. Moreover, in the sheet metal form the vertical slide portion or shank 1, covers and completely hides the guide plate 6 when the holder is empty.

One advantage of having the side retainers of wire is that a very much smaller portion of the front face of the cards or sheets will be hidden. This is also of particular advantage where frail or flexible sheets are to be displayed since the inwardly extending portions 12,14, may be made as long as desired, bringing the vertical retaining wires 13, 13 the desired distance nearer the center of the sheets, yet without hiding the latter.

The body or guide plate sheet 6 has upper tabs 20 and also lower tab 21 formed merely by punching three sides of rectangles,

leaving the fourth sides attached for use as bendable hinges. As indicated in Fig. 3, these tabs may be pushed through slits in a pasteboard or other support 30 and the projecting portions may be bent either upward or downward, as may be desired. Bending the tabs 20 upward and the tab 21 downward will have the advantage that the ribs 7*, 8, form solid cooperating surfaces against which the support 30 may be clamped by the free ends of tabs '20 and 21. My present construction, whereby there may be two upper tabs, is of advantage because the Weight of the folders supported in the device and also the efforts of users tend to bring an outward strain on the upward part of the holder and where the support 30 is of pasteboard or where the tabs are not substantial, they are likely to tear out. As before noted, these tabs and the holes from which they are punched are entirely concealed, from the front by sheet metal shank, 1.

I claim:

i 1. In a display holder, a guide plate including a body portion, consisting of a plane sheet of metal having securing tabs punched and bent rearwardly thereof, and parallel edge portions bent forwardly, across and rearwardly to form edge-clamping guides;

a shelf or support member, consisting of an L-shaped piece of sheet metal, including a shank with parallel edges slidably engaging said clamping guides and covering sai punched body portion; and side-guide, retaining members slidably engaging the top and bottom portions of said guide plate.

2. A display holder adapted for use in upright position, comprising a guide plate, having horizontal and vertical guides; an L-shaped sheet metal supporting bracket slidably engaging said vertical guides; and a pair of opposing side guides consisting of wire bent to form two guide legs and a connecting portion forming side guide and front retainer elements.

3. In a display holder adapted to be used in upright position, a sheet metal guide plate having integral side edges formed as vertical guides and integral top and bottom edges formed as horizontal guides; an L-.

shaped bracket vertically slidable in the former guides and two L-shaped brackets horizontally slidable in the latter guides.

4. In a display holder adapted to be used in upright position, a sheet metal guide plate having its side edges bent forwardly and toward each other to form vertical guides and its top and bottom edges curled rearwardly and toward each other to form two sets of hor zontal guides; an L-shaped bracket vertically slidable in the former guides and two opposing L-shaped brackets horizontally slidable in the latter guides.

5. In a display holder adapted to be used in upright position, a sheet metal guide plate having its side edges bent forwardly and toward each other to form vertical guides and its top and bottom edges curled rearwardly and toward each other to form two sets of horizontal guides; an L-shaped bracket vertically slidable in the former guides and two opposing L-shaped brackets horizontally slidable in the latter guides; said guideplate having securing tabs punched rearwardly therefrom and said vertically slidable bracket having its slide portion of sheet metal covering said tab punched portions of said guide plate.

Signed at Ann Arbor in the county of lVashtenaw, and State of Michigan this 21st day of January, A. D. 1924.

CARL JOHN ANDERSON. 

